Losing Love
by nearvana
Summary: AU/AH - A nearly fatal car accident leaves Elena with severe memory lost and Damon with a broken heart… but was it really an accident? Previously A Second Chance.
1. Prologue: Of Blood and Revenge

**Prologue: Of Blood and Revenge **

Many thoughts went through his mind as the truck impacted the side of the car.

But what had hit him the most, were the emotions that went though his heart as he saw his wife, bleeding and broken, strapped to a gurney.

The EMTs had forced him onto a gurney as well, but he was fine. Physically.

He felt like screaming. Screaming until he lost his voice. But he did not. Instead, he stared at her.

She was always a beauty. A goddess, even. And she had captured him the moment he first laid his eyes on her. But now, all that was left of her was a bloody, scarred mess. There were deep gashes on her face, from the shards of glass, he assumed. Her nose was bent at an odd angle, and her bottom lip was split. Her hair that had always been so luscious was sticky from her own blood, that ran from several wounds to her head. But her face wasn't the worst of it, and even though she was covered with a thin blanket from the neck down, he knew it. She seemed so frail and tiny, compared to the EMTs who surrounded her. But despite her injuries, she was beautiful to him, as she always will be. He knew she had to make it.. but he couldn't help but wonder if she didn't…

Closing his eyes and turning away from the carnage beside him, he vowed to himself that no matter what happened this night, he would never part with her. Not even in death.

He turned away from the scene as the ambulance left, leaving with her.. and him. The man had done a nice job, for sure. Elena wasn't even recognizable anymore. _A pity, _he thought, _was such a pretty face, too. _

Of course, he would make sure his hitman got the payment he deserved for his good job. It was definitely worth seeing the utter _despair_ written on his brother's face.

Stefan brought out his sunglasses, sliding them around his face even though it was roughly about one am in the morning. He looked back once more at the wreckage and smirked.

_Unfortunately for you, brother.. my revenge has only just begun. _

* * *

**End Notes**_  
_

Hello everyone! Long time no see, ehh? I promised this would be out by June, so here it is. Unfortunately, due to my exams, I was unable to complete the full story before actually uploading it here. This is basically a rewrite of my other story, A Second Chance, which was never finished due to my fickle muse. This will be short, and so will be the chapters. The only reason why I'm even writing this now is because of the reviews I got on A Second Chance, and because I felt bad for never finishing it like I had promised myself and everyone else. Please remember to review so that my muse doesn't not spontaneously disappear like last time. Constructive criticism is very much welcomed, but I will not stand for flaming. I have changed a few things from the original story, such as the antagonist. I'm sorry if you like Stefan, but I kind of don't. Don't read this if you like Stefan. Or Stelena. Especially if you like Stelena.

Until next time,

Carrie


	2. Chapter I: Of Worry and Payment

**Chapter 1: Of Worry and Payment **

Damon Salvatore sat on the railing of his balcony, a tumbler of scotch in one hand and a cigar in the other. Although, his habit of drinking and smoking had died down when Elena had come into his life. She had come up to him, snatched the cigar right from his mouth, threw it on the floor and stomped on it to put it out. When he shouted in protest, she replied, _"Those things will kill you." _

Damn, is she going to be pissed at me..

He weakly chuckled. Right. She wasn't even here.

No. She was lying on a cold, metal operating table. He should be there at the door, waiting for the second she was brought out, but everything about that place made him sick. He couldn't stand the thought of her being poked and probed by a bunch of butchers. Instead, he imagined she was out with those annoying friends of hers. What were their names? Camilie and Brenda?

Damon took a large gulp of scotch, the amber liquid traveling down his throat like acid. It was comforting.

The sky was lit up by a large, full moon. _She_ loved the moon. Would spend hours upon hours staring out the window, until the moon disappeared and was replaced by the sun. It was one of the things he admired the most about her. Elena, unlike other women, was not possessed by wordly trinkets. Her interests lay in the sky and the world above ours.

_I need to stop thinking about her. _He took a long drag of his cigar. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The strong, rancid odor of sweat and sex hung over the club like a heavy fog. Testosterone and Estrogen mixed in the air, probably from all the fucking going on in the back rooms. Stefan sat alone at a clean table, a simple glass of sparkling water in his hands. Hookers eagerly shed clothing on the small stage and men cheered as he watched the carnal scene with glee. Checking his watch, he grunted in disapproval.

_Alex is late again. That fucking bastard always keeps me waiting. _

Stefan had known Alex for years now, ever since _she_ left. Alex was the only one there, when _he _wasn't. Alex wasn't only his hitman, he was his friend. And to celebrate their success, they made plans to meet each other here.. But Alex was late, and Stefan was getting impatient.

"My man!" Someone called out from behind him in a gruff voice which Stefan recognized as Alex's.

"Thought you weren't going to show up,"

"Stef, you know how bitches are," Alex sat down beside the irate Stefan and called a waitress over to order a drink. A half naked girl quickly came and left, but not before being groped by Alex's wandering hand. Stefan scowled in distaste and took a sip of his water.

"Understatement of the year. What happened this time?"

The hitman shrugged, "Caroline was just being clingy again. If she wasn't so great in bed I would've dumped her ass a long time ago."

"Why not? I did." Stefan stated, looking down at his empty glass.

"Yeah, but that was only because of _her_.. wasn't it?"

The glass shattered under pressure. There were shards embedded to Stefan's skin, but he didn't seem to mine as he plucked them without a wince.

Alex grimaced, "Sorry, man. I should know better than to bring her up.."

"No. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about… You did a good job, Alex. Her face was totally fucked up. Too bad you couldn't see it. You should've seen _his_ face."

Both friends laughed.

"Yeah, it is too bad," Alex replied, taking his drink from a scantily clad woman. "She had a pretty face, though. Nice body. You should've just let me rape her, instead."

Stefan paused in taking out the last shard. "I don't like others touching what is mine."

"Stef, she isn't-"

He suddenly stood, glaring at his 'friend'. "She will be, one way or another."

Alex downed the contents of his glass with a frown.

"I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry…"

Stefan shook his head, "Whatever, man. I need to leave anyways. I'll see you around." He turned his back and walked away, not looking back once at Alex.

_That was weird… _Hitman thought, but waved over a waitress for another drink.

Detective Forbes looked up at the corpse. The murder was set to have happened somewhere between one in the morning and three in the morning. Evidence of struggle was apparent, _a lot_ of struggle. The murderer had taken his time. Forbes sighed, wondering how the hell she was going to explain to her daughter that her boyfriend was found gutted and hanged from a hook in the back of a sleazy night club, with his dick out and a condom in place.

* * *

**End Notes**

I don't usually do the whole "several chapters in one day" but I was eager to get this one out because it has plot, and the prologue didn't. Alex is my character, because I didn't want to kill off Tyler, who doesn't even exist in this story. Or maybe he will? Hm. Anyways, since FFnet is now enforcing their "no sexually explicit content" policy, this story will have no lemons. Well, maybe I'll do a little something-something and post it up on mediaminer. This is rated M for strong language, violence, and some sexual content. _No lemons. _As always, constructive criticism is welcomed, so do me the favor and please review so that my muse doesn't go _poof_ like last time.

Until next time,

Carrie


	3. Chapter II: Of Death and a Memory

**Chapter 2: Of Death and a Memory **

Heavy knocking awoke him from his slumber.

Rolling over on to his side, he put a pillow over his head and mumbled, "Elena, go get the door.."

Elena.

He quickly sprung up from bed, sleep forgotten.

That's right. Elena wasn't here.

Damon sighed and grabbed the bottle of Jack Daniels from his nightstand, walking towards the door which was still being knocked on.

"I'm coming!" He yelled, but quickly regretted it when he briefly lost his sight due to the pounding in his head.

The knocking continued, and he decided it was time for a drink. Bringing the bottle to his lips, he downed the rest of the scotch and opened the door to reveal a distraught, racoon-eyed Caroline.

"Damon!" she managed to choke out between sobs, "He's dead! Alex is dead!"

Damon looked once at his wife's weeping friend, and quickly closed the door on her. Turning his back to the entrance, he made his way back to bed.

_It's way too early for this shit. _

"Damon!" The yelling began again, but this time the sound came directly from behind him.

_Damn, did I forget to lock the door? _

He was attacked from behind, small arms wrapping around his waist as Caroline attached herself to him, her face pressed to his back as her sobs continued.

_Yep, I did. _

"Oh Damon, isn't it awful? Alex is dead! Dead! Murdered in back of some night club! Right after he cheated on me too! I-I can't… believe… this…"

Damon was silent as the grave as he let her rant on.

"I ju-just c-can't believe he's de-dead!"

They both stood there in the middle of his small living room until her sobs quieted down. When she finally stopped her crying, he untangled the tight hold she had on him and turned around to face her.

"Camille.." He started, but was quickly interrupted by a suddenly angry Caroline.

"It's Caroline!"

"Whatever," He shrugged and continued, "Caroline, Alex was an asshole. _Everyone_ knew that. You constantly had to bail him out of prison and caught him once or twice with another woman in his bed—"

"But that was when—"

"Shut up!" Damon covered her mouth with his hand, "Let me finish. No more excuses, you know it's true. Elena always told you to break it off with him, but did you listen to her? No. We all knew Alex was likely to end up dead in a ditch somewhere anyways- he sold drugs, he fucked whores, and maybe even killed a few men. As for his death, although unfortunate, I can't say I'll cry about it. I have my own shit to deal with. Now, are we going to go visit Elena or not?"

Slowly, she nodded.

"Good, then. Wait here while I get dressed."

Damon quickly dressed, and they both left the apartment and made their way to Caroline's car, as Damon's was still in pieces. The whole drive to the hospital, both parties were silent.

* * *

At the hospital, Damon and Caroline waited impatiently for news on Elena's condition. The nurses had confided that she was safely out of the operation room, to which they had both sighed in relief of. Now, they sat with ten or more people in the ICU waiting room, monitoring the doors for any sign of Elena's doctor.

"Salvatore?" a nurse dressed in pink puppy scrubs asked from the door of the ICU.

Damon piped up immediately, answering her eagerly, "Yes?"

The nurse looked over at him, signaling with her hand that he could go in. As he stood, so did Caroline, but the nurse shook her head and said, "Only one at a time."

A disappointed Caroline huffed and sat back down, "You better hurry up, because I want to see my best friend."

Damon followed the nurse to Elena's room, and his heart dropped at the sight of his unconscious wife.

Most of Elena's face was covered in bandages. Anything that wasn't bandaged, was bruised. A white sheet covered her body, but her arms were exposed. Both of her broken arms were covered in casts, and on her head was a tightly wrapped bandage. She was connected to many tubes, including an IV, a heart monitor and a respirator machine. The room was large and silent, except for the _beeping_ of the EKG*.

He slowly approached the bedside where Elena laid. She was so broken and.. it was all his fault! If only he hadn't—

Damon looked down at his feet, unable to look at her anymore.

_Elena, how could you love me, after what I've done to you? _

* * *

_A snowball hit him right in the face. _

"_Gotcha!" Elena laughed, and ran as fast as she could with ten layers of clothing on her back. _

"_Oh no you don't!" Damon grinned as he bent down to collect snow in his palm, using his hands to pat the ice into a ball as he looked around for his fiancee. "I'm going to get you either way! Surrender now and I'll give you mercy!" _

"_Never!" She yelled from her post behind a large tree and threw another snowball at him, which unfortunately missed. _

"_Aha! I've got you now!" _

"_No!" She ran off again and he was hot on her heels. Suddenly, the snowball he created was thrown, and Elena found herself off balanced by the snowball that had hit her ankle. She fell over and landed in a thick pile of snow, but before she could stand up, Damon covered her body with his and pinned her down to the ground. Elena turned her head to yell at him, but he pressed his lips to hers instead. _

"_Now I've got you." _

_She pouted, "You were supposed to let me win! That's what gentlemen do!" _

"_Too bad, so sad." He clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. _

"_You're.. a jerk." Elena stuck her tongue out at him. _

_Damon smirked, "But you still love me anyways, right?" _

_And she smiled. "Always." _

* * *

Damon sat on a chair in the far corner of the room, with his elbows on his knees and his head hung. It wasn't a comfortable position, but it went unnoticed to him. Elena's doctor had come in a few minutes ago, briefing Damon on his wife's current condition. She would still be in the hospital for two more weeks, to allow her body time to repair itself in a safe, sterile environment with professionals monitoring her progress daily. The injuries to her head were what most worried the doctor, and he reluctantly admitted that Elena could have lost some of her memory. This made Damon nervous. What if she forgot about him? And what if she never remembered? All their memories together? He stood up and walked over to her bed, kneeling as he took her hand in his, careful of the tubes she was connected to.

"Elena, Please wake up. I need to hear you say you love me.."

Getting no response, he sighed and kissed her palm. Standing up, he figured it was time he got home and drowned his worry with a nice bottle of his favorite whiskey, Bourbon.

* * *

**End Notes**

*** - an EKG or ECG is a heart monitor that beeps to the heartbeat of the person it's connected to.  
**

I swear this is the last time I'm doing this. Chapter III will not be upload until tomorrow, I swear!

I enjoyed writing this chapter very much. I particularly enjoyed writing the Damon and Caroline scene, they're just so funny together. Some comical relief is good for such an angst filled story like this... Trust me, it's going to get _worse. _

So far, no reviews, which is disappointing. Come on, people! Do I have to beg? Because I will. You can review even if you're not logged in, because I accept anons. Constructive criticism is very welcome, but I don't appreciate flamers. REVIEW.

Until tomorrow,

Carrie


	4. Chapter III: Of Nostalgia and Fear

**Chapter 3: Of Nostalgia and Fear**

The exchange of receptionists at the ICU happened exactly at 10:00pm, and Stefan got there at 10:01pm.

"Salvatore," he said, pointing to his ID sticker, cleverly covering his first name with his finger. *

The receptionist quickly typed something in her desktop, before nodding at a nurse to escort him to the room _she_ was in. Stefan followed the nurse down a long corridor, before making a left to a smaller one.

"Here we are," the nurse stated, gesturing to the door on the right.

Stefan entered, and the nurse closed the door behind him. He chuckled to himself, knowing that Elena was completely at his mercy…

Elena. The girl he once loved—no, _still _ loves—was on a bed, connected to several tubes and bandaged just about everywhere.

She had never looked so beautiful.

Walking over to her side, he gazed down at her face. He lifted his hand, and ever so gently trailed his fingers against her scarred cheek. She did not move, and Stefan found himself wondering if she would flinch at his touch if she had been awake.

He could do whatever he wanted to her, and no one would be able to stop him..

It was too bad there were cameras attached to the ceiling. He would have to settle for a kiss.

Leaning down, he took her chapped bottom lip between his. She tasted stale, so unlike the taste of strawberry he once remembered. Disappointed, he pulled back and began to caress her cheek again.

"For now, I bid you farewell. But you will be mine again, Elena. I swear it."

Stefan smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

He really did have to go now. After all, he had an old friend to visit…

* * *

Caroline Forbes sat on her couch with a tub of _Ben and Jerry's_ in one hand and a large spoon in the other. Today had been long. Her boyfriend was dead, her best friend was in Intensive Care at the hospital, and she was all alone in her apartment, with no comfort at all. She had tried to convince Damon to let her stay at his apartment, but he had yelled at her to go home and (once again) shut the door on her face.

So here she was, watching some cheesy horror movie and eating ice cream on a Saturday night like the total loser she was. Occasionally, she burst into tears when she reminded herself of Alex's death. Caroline had loved him a lot, even if he was an asshole. She wished Elena was here to help.. she would know just what to say, unlike her stupid jerk husband.

"_Hello? Is anyone there? Hello…?"_

So she concentrated on the movie playing instead. Some ditzy brunette (pfft, and they call _blonds_ stupid..) was wandering in the middle of a dark forest, miles away from any other human contact, with merely a flashlight.

Caroline knew where this was going, and her heartbeat quickened at the suspense.

_Oh no! She's going to die! Run, idiot! _

The girl on screen did not heed her advice, but continued to ask if anyone was out there.

_You're going to die soon if you don't get the fuck out of there, stupid! Ru-_

Three steady knocks interrupted her internal battle, and she cried out in surprise, falling off her place on the couch in the process.

After the shock wore off, she stood up and ran to her door, not bothering to check who it was before opening it.

There, at the threshold of her apartment, was none other than Stefan Salvatore, her crazy ex-boyfriend.

"Ste-Stefan.. what are you doing here?"

Her ex smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Hello, Caroline… We need to talk."

* * *

**End Notes **

*** - There's always that one idiot receptionist that doesn't double check, but Stefan covered his name _just_ in case. The receptionist must've assumed he was Damon Salvatore. Bad receptionist!  
**

As promised, here is chapter three! It's so short, but for those who use to read A Second Chance, I did say the chapters were going to be short. The last two chapters were just anomalies, but most chapters are going to be under 800 words. But that's okay, because I update daily. Anyways, I don't have chapter four written out yet, but good news! I have the next ten chapters planned out, and it's nowhere close to the end. So I'm estimating this story will be about 20-30 chapters long. Please don't forget to **review**. They seriously make my day and just make me want to write more, so if you review you'll get _two_ chapters tomorrow instead of one.

Until next time,

Carrie


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